Griffins defeat Marlies, lose Ritola, Kolosov to injuries

The Grand Rapids Griffins defeated the Toronto Marlies via a 2-1 shootout margin on Friday night, doing a few things very well--including out-shooting their opponent by a significant margin (37 to 24) for the first time in a long time. The Griffins' website posts a detailed game recap:

March 20, Griffinshockey.com: Following a scoreless and uneventful first period, Darren McCarty ignited the packed house by scoring his third goal of the campaign just 1:44 into the second frame. Collecting the puck to the left of the crease with his back to [Justin] Pogge, he backhanded a shot into the far corner of the cage to give Grand Rapids a lead it would carry into the final 20 minutes.

Midway through the third period, the Marlies were awarded 1:42 of a 5-on-3 power play due to a controversial interference call against Darren Helm. The Griffins were 17 seconds from killing off the first penalty to Jakub Kindl when Toronto's Jeremy Williams connected on a slap shot from the left circle to tie the score with 8:39 remaining.

In the shootout, Tim Stapleton and Jiri Tlusty beat Howard in the first two rounds before he slammed the door, and Ville Leino and Darren Haydar scored in rounds one and three, respectively, to set up the final drama.
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Howard stopped Toronto's last six shootout attempts before Evan McGrath scored in the eighth round[.]
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Howard made 23 saves to earn his 87th career victory, one shy of Joey MacDonald's franchise record, while Pogge countered with 35 in a stellar but fruitless performance.

The Grand Rapids Press's Michael Zuidema spoke to Evan McGrath, who raved about Howard's performance, after the game:

March 21, Grand Rapids Press: "He's been great for us lately, and he's the reason why we're winning all these games," McGrath said. "We just wanted to give him the best opportunity to stop as many as he could, and then get the one that we needed."

Tim Stapleton and Jiri Tlusty scored on Toronto's first two attempts of the shootout before Howard shut the door.

"After the second one, I collected my thoughts and regrouped in the crease," Howard said. "I let it go, and told myself to just be a little more patient and let them make the first move."

The Griffins received serious blows in the personnel department, however:

The Griffins also were forced to play shorthanded after forward Mattias Ritola injured his shoulder and defenseman Sergei Kolosov sprained his wrist. [Griffins coach Curt] Fraser said Ritola is expected to be out 4-6 weeks. Kolosov will be re-evaluated today.

"The rest of the guys did a good job of stepping up and taking those guys' places," Fraser said. "Tomorrow, though, we're going to have to find a way to put another lineup together and, if not play the same, play better."

In the multimedia department, the Griffins' website posted a 10-image photo gallery and audio clips of Fraser, Howard, and McGrath's post-game comments.